Dress-fitting appliance



DRESS FITTING APPLIANCE Filed June 9, 1936 Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITEDI STATES 2,113,663 I DRESS-FITTING APPLIANCE Clara Newman and AgrifsAQGordon, Cleveland,

Application June 9, 1936, Serial No. 84,376

1 Claim;

The present invention has to do with the art of fitting of dresses andunderthings, such as slips, lingerie, and foundations of differentsorts,

primarily for use in dress and like fitting shops catering to women. Thepractice which is intended to be improved in the above' art affectsordinary fitting operations of dresses, foundations, and the like.

It is customary in dress-fitting shops at the present time for dressesand similar garments to be tried on, preliminary to their acceptance andpurchase, by the prospective customer. Now dresses and other finegarments and foundations are necessarily tried on a great many differentpersons incident to the sales thereof. The present-day mode of dressinga woman is to wear as few and as scanty clothes as possible, and gownsand other similar garments are daily being tried on almost nude bodiesin many shops, this de- 0 pending very largely upon the extent to whichthe particular person being fitted adheres to the custom of using moreor less undergarments.

It is known to those engaged in the business of operating dress andother garment fitting shops, that many persons who are customers,engaged in the selection of garments to purchase, have offensive bodyodors, often soiled underwear, and, in certain instances, such personsare afflicted with skin diseases. Obviously, when garments have beentried on persons who may have offensive body odors, or skin diseases, orother similar distasteful body conditions, the garments may becomesoiled, or may take up such offensive odors, powder marks, or the like.These things are often noticeable to the customer, and, moreover, theybecome. obnoxious to the fitter of the garments working in the shop. Notonly is the above true, but, in the course of time, a garment tried onmany times on different persons becomes so soiled or odoriferous that ithas to be sent to the cleaner for renovation, or sometimes the garmentsare sold as seconds, in both instances resulting in a loss of profit tothe shop owner, as well as loss of display time, involving expenseaggregating considerable amounts under certain conditions, depending onthe size of the shop.

Now, by the present invention we have provided a dress-fitting applianceintended to do away with the foregoing disadvantageous conditionsincident to the above dress-fitting practice, to which end we havedevised a simple formfitting appliance designed to be applied to thebody of the person who is to be fitted with a dress or like garmentbefore the garment is put on such person. The fitting appliance of theinvention comprises a body covering preferably made of transparentmaterial of flesh-like color, so that when the appliance is placed onthe body V of a prospective customer, after the dress or other 5 outergarments of the customer have been removed, the said appliance'willperform several functions.-

It will constitute a body covering giving the approximate flesh-colorappearance of the body beneath the garment later to be placed thereover.

The appliance additionally will be a sterilized covering and willtherefore prevent all possibility of the dress, or other garment fittedthereover, being contaminated in any way by the body or person of onebeing fitted.

Again, the body covering of the invention is an appliance which is madeof a material preferably of finest rubberized silk, which has a tend- 20ency, because of the body fitting structure of the covering, toadhereclosely to the person of the one being fitted with the outer garment. Onthis account, therefore, the tendency of the covering will be toeliminate wrinkling lines on the person and afford a better fittingaction on the part of the outer garment with which the said person is tobe fitted as such garment will freely slide over the covering.

It is contemplated that the material of the appliance or body coveringof the invention shall be sterilized after each use thereof, by beingplaced in a chemical sterilizer, the foregoing affording positiveprotection against the disadvantageous conditions that prevail at thepresent time in fitting shops and previously discussed herein.

A simple embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which- 40 Figure 1 is a front view of our dress-fittingappliance or body covering, and Figure 2 is a rear view of the same.

Describing the invention specifically, the appliance thereof consists ofa body covering A formed with the sleeve portions B, through which thearms of the user will pass, and provided with the open neck portion C atthe opposite sides of which are closing lapels D. It is intended thatthe covering A shall be of form-fitting structure and so made in thecutting out of the same, to provide the complete covering. It is to thisend that the rear of the covering is provided with dartsE, and thelatter will preferably be employed so as to cause the covering toconform as closely as possible to the body of the person or customer whois going to be fitted with the outer garments that are to be protectedby means of the invention.

The covering B will preferably be made of a rubberized silk material offinest quality obtainable, because such material is slick and will be oftransparent nature so that it will in no way mar the harmony of colorsof outer garments that will be applied to the person, thereover.

In using the appliance of the invention, a customer will remove herouter garments and the fitter will place over her body the covering A.If the outer garment is a low-necked garment,

the lapels D will be turned outward to expose the V neck of the person.If the outer garment is closed at the neck, the lapels D will preferablybe closed at the dotted line positions of Figure 1, to maintain theprotection against contact of the body of the person with any materialor substantial portion of the dress, foundation, or other article ofapparel fitted to the person.

The material of the covering A will be such that it will not be causedto deteriorate incident to the sterilizing operation to which thecovering is subjected after each use thereof.

The covering or appliance will be made in all difierent sizes such asthe sizes of which dresses, foundations, or the like are made, and thusthe various coverings will be supplied and ready for use in suchdifferent sizes to fit the different forms of prospective customers.

The body covering may also be treated with a germicide, as well assterilized, or either operation used, as desired.

It is understood that rubberized silk or any equivalent material may beused in carrying out the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

As a new article of manufacture, a body covering adapted to be placed onthe body of a person over nether garments and exposed portions of thebody preliminary to trying on a garment to be fitted, comprising a formfitting body provided 'with continuous waist and skirt sections, saidWaist section having arm extensions of suflicient length to cover thearm pits of the wearer, and having a neck opening and lapels extendingtherefrom, said covering being of transparent, non-porous slick materialcapable of preventing passage of moisture and odors therethrough andwithstanding sterilization for sanitary purposes, and affording afoundation over which the garment to be tried on will readily slide onand 01f the body.

CLARA NEWMAN.

AGNES A. GORDON.

